Verizon began wiring new subscribers in Herndon, Va., outside Washington, D.C. this week with FiOS TV service. Herndon becomes the second small community to get cabled up for the company's new foray in television, following a much-publicized launch a couple of months ago in Keller, an exurb of Dallas-Ft. Worth (HD Notebook, Sept. 28, 2005).
Sign-ups in Keller have been strong, according to published reports quoting Verizon execs, and the telco said it now expects a penetration rate in the Dallas market in "double-digits" by early 2006 (around 10 to 12 percent). Verizon also signed a long-term contract this fall with Fairfax County, a heavily populated, high per-capita income area adjacent to Herndon.
Verizon said it plans to bundle its services to include FiOS TV, broadband Internet and voice. It currently holds various FiOS franchises for localities in at least 15 states, including all of Texas.
Technically speaking, Verizon is constructing passive optical networks with fiber extending from central offices to un-powered hubs, in which the fiber can be optically split up 32 ways. The active components adhere to the ITU-T G.983 standard (aka APON or BPON), which provides 622 MB downstream at 1,490 NM, 155 MB upstream at 1,310 NM and RF video overlay at 1,550 NM.
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